1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an input device having a button input and a coordinate input disposed on the same operating surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
Input devices in portable telephones and similar devices include pushbutton inputs or the like for performing various operations such as inputting telephone numbers, initiating a telephone call, and terminating a telephone call.
In recent years, the number of internet connections using portable telephones has increased. In addition, the number and type of services provided via portable telephones has similarly increased. Consequently, various menu items are often displayed on the display panel or device of these portable telephones. However, selecting the menu items from the display device can be difficult and cumbersome.
In some types of portable telephones, a press-type or stick-type input mechanism for indicating directions is placed separately from the pushbutton inputs for the purpose of moving a pointer to select menu items on the display.
However, since the pushbutton input operation and the menu-selecting operation are performed using different motions and physical operations, usability of the input device can be decreased. Moreover, since the direction in which the selection position of the menu-selecting operation can be moved is limited to upward, downward, rightward, and leftward directions, quick selection of menu items can be difficult.